I live in southern California. On April 4 2004 I was scouting for a Pathfinder outing and discovered a small tick on me the next morning. Life has not been the same since. Even though I have been on heavy antibiotics for a year my ability to concentrate has gone for months at a time. Intense fatigue is a major problem. Aches and pains appear from nowhere for about 3 days in a location and then move to a new location. Etc.

Lyme disease is no picnic and all precautions need to be taken to protect our Pathfinders and staff from this scourge.
1.Sit on a Permethrin treated ground cloth
2.Wear long sleeves with the outer layers treated with Permethrin.
3.Do tick checks often (at least daily).

Permethrin is not toxic to people after it has dried. The military uses it on to keep their personnel free from ticks, chiggers, mosquitoes, etc.. It is the main ingredient in tick and flee protection for dogs.

If you have lyme or have had lyme, I have started a yahoo group called SDA Lyme.

The same things that are suggested here for the prevention of Lyme Disease will go a long way to protect against West Nile Virus which is carried by mosquitoes.
Here in Louisiana it is the West Nile we are trying to protect against.

We now have West Nile here in California as well. In our hills we have ticks that carry lyme disease and chiggers.

You just really need to make sure that you protect yourself (and your pathfinders) well.

I read somewhere that mosquitoes are attracted to us by potassium in our blood, but even more than that, "SALT" in our blood. People with high salt content are more prone to be attacked by mosquitoes than those without. It does just more than raise your blood pressure!

Permethrin seems to be the most effective thing on clothing for keeping insects and their 8 legged cousins away from you. DEET on kids may have some bad neurological side effects.

Chiggers are usually not a problem in the west being that the humidity is not high enough for them. They abound in the south and where the north has mild winters because they canâ€™t handle cold either. What I read Permethrin is effective against them too.

Mosquitoes that land on treated cloth they are not going to get a chance to bite you.

The Lyme fatigue is still hanging on to me. For example I have had to sleep more than 12 hours today. I get up and do something for awhile and fall exhausted for a 2+ hour nap.

Sacramento County is on the brink of announcing a health crisis emergency with 26 cases of west nile virus, and 8 of them resulting in paralysis or encephalitis.

This of course is from mosquito bites. Native Americans used a plant (i believe it's a sage of some sort) to rub on themselves to repel mosquitoes... and it works. But we've found out from research that the thing that keeps mosquitoes away even more is what the Adventist health messge has been telling us for many years. I don't remember where I read it, but salt in your diet makes you a more attractive target for the mosquitoes and shows up on their radar. Try it. I don't use as much salt as I used to, and I don't get bitten as much anymore.

Permethrin dried onto clothing, tents, etc. will wipe out any mosquito that dares land on it. Mosquitoes usually land on something close to their victim before they come to dinner. Permethrin is toxic to people until it dries.

The military claims that Permethrin and DEET make you 99.9% bug proof. DEET by itself is much less than that and in high DEET concentrations (10% in kids and 30% in adults ) can cause neurological damage.

Some native tribes used California bay leaves as an insect repellent. I have tried them but was not really impressed. One of my sources state that:

Wild Garlic (Allium vineale ) was used to rub down with as an insect repellent

Wormwood (Artemisia dracunculus) was used as a fly repellent.

American Falsepennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides).was used to repel insects by the Cherokee tribe.

Skunkbush Sumac (Rhus trilobata) leaves were rubbed on as a repellent.

Western Meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale) seed and leaves were used as a repellent.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica ) flowers were used for lice.

Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia because most doctors are totally convinced that their area does not have lyme and so refuse to test for it. Then to make matters worse Lyme seems to have a narrow window when the antibodies are detectable by many labs. Fortunately, I got a test done in that window at a good lab. With my tick bite I also got babesiosis (like 20% to 30% do). This makes treating the lyme harder.

Bugs actually nest on the Basil in my garden. When camping where ever possible rake back the loose ground cover away from tent areas and restore it when you break camp. This will remove many crawling insects. In some areas this is illegal and in others will create greater hazards in cases of rain so it is a matter to study first.

I have some senior knowledge of gardening, horticulture and landscaping. In the simplest sense "natural" deterents are effective in a very local sense (a radius of inches) and only for specific sorts of insects most of which are herbavores not carnivores. Mesquites are detered by smoke of any burning wood as are many other insects. Also, putting up a lantern or safer electric light on the outskirts of camp away from both kitchen and tent areas will attract some flying critters away from your camp making them a non factor.

Unfortunately the risks of tick bites and other crawling creatures can not be detered with lights and little with herbs. My wife has a friend who contracted Lyme on her honeymoon, of all events. I hope and pray that with time, diet, and God you will regain your strength.

Thats interesting, I never thought about using stinging nettle, although mine went away and I don't think that I had it as bad as you... All I ever got was some meds that made me sun burn really easily!

Thanks for sharing these tips. I would like to share some of the tips that I found really useful.

We always spray our campsite when car camping as we are in an area that has tick problems. We carry a water hose and the type of handheld sprayer that attaches to the hose. It is very easy to use.

We use Ortho or Spectracide outdoor insect products. Read the label carefully.

Set the dial to the rate per gallon as specified on the chemical you are using. This is usually 1.5 to 3 ounces per gallon.

Hook up to the water at the site and spray. Don't set up any equipment until after the area has dried. We spray as early as we can and set up camp as late as we can.

We have found this to be very effective in getting rid of ticks, fire ants, ants, spiders, chiggers, and red bugs. It helps some with mosquitoes.

The thing you should remember when camping at a campsite in a campground is that it has been used over and over. Maybe even the day before you get there. A lot of times, the campers before you were not as neat as you, and dropped food all over the ground. This food is attracting all the insects in the area. Be especially careful in the sites that have the gravel pads as the food works under the gravel and you can't see it to get it out of your site. You also can't see the insects as well on this gravel surface.Sometimes after camping, you also experience lice problems. Here are some of the tips to get rid of them. Kerosene does work, but it is a rather drastic remedy these days. There is evidence that the mayonnaise or Vaseline idea may work as well, also olive oil. Leave them on for as long as possible - preferably overnight, which is what we did as children. You might help it along by wrapping the hair in a towel or tight cloth or in a shower cap while the solution is on.I found olive oil is the best as it also helps in fast hair growth and make your hair strong and beautiful.

When we were kids we used a fine toothed comb and combed them out and burned them as we caught them - I know, a bit gross. You also need to get the nits - the eggs on the strands of hair. You have to pull them off individually between your fingernails. You must either wash in very hot soapy water and dry in a hot dryer or store in a sealed plastic bag for two weeks. Lice do not live long off the human body.

A simple natural cure is to cut the hair very short and then use kerosene - makes it easier to control.

Lice tend to have cycles so they sometimes seem to disappear as quickly as they came, but they are very contagious. After years of experience with this issue, as a child, a parent, teacher and principal I would opt for an over-the-counter medication rather than natural remedies.